- RAZOR ROB LOOKING TO CUT IN LINE FOR TITLE SHOT

by Mitch Gobetz – MMAWeekly.com
Rob McCullough is trying to get himself back in the lightweight title mix in World Extreme Cagefighting. The WEC had one of its strangest moments when they had to postpone the show scheduled for Sept. 10 when Hurricane Ike threatened the South Florida area. The show wasn’t actually just pushed for a week or two, but for two months.

Now the time has come for the fight to finally begin when McCullough will take on Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone. The postponement had a serious effect on McCullough’s training camp, being it was so close to the fight when it was canceled… just five days prior.

“It was real close to the fight,” McCullough said recently in an interview with MMAWeekly Radio. “If they were going to call it, I’d rather they did it at the end so I can start my cycle all over again and not in the middle.”

When a fight gets postponed, it can cause a major inconvenience to the participating fighters because they depend on their purse to compensate their training camps.

“Yeah, because we didn’t get reimbursed,” McCullough explained. “Basically, my partners and my training camp said, ‘we’re going to do this all over again?’ I said, ‘Yeah,’ and we didn’t get paid for it so… But I said, ‘Don’t worry. It’ll all work out in the end.'”

This will be McCullough’s tenth fight for the organization. He has enjoyed great success fighting for the WEC, going 7-2. He feels very lucky to be part of their promotion. “I’m really excited. The WEC has always taken care of me. It’s like a second home. I’ve had quite a few fights in the WEC. I know everybody in the backdrop of it all. It’s a great organization. It’s comparable to the UFC. I’m glad I’m in the WEC and not in EliteXC.”

McCullough is the former WEC lightweight champion, but was stopped by current titleholder Jamie Varner. He returned to the cage in June against Kenneth Alexander. The Californian was noticeably hesitant to pull the trigger against his tough opponent, but was able to earn the split decision.

“I think I was a little gun shy at the beginning in the first two rounds,” commented McCullough about his most recent fight. “Towards the end, I started opening back up. Then it was just a matter of making sure I got the W and not doing anything dumb. Just getting back in there and getting the cage rust off.”

Cerrone has been on an impressive streak of his own, going 8-0 to start his career with one no contest. Not only is Cerrone undefeated, but he has also submitted all of his opponents in under two full rounds. McCullough knows the test he’s about to face and doesn’t take it lightly. “I think it’s going to be a hell of a fight. I think I’ve been training my butt off. I’m sure he has too. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve. I’m sure he’s got some stuff, but all in all, I plan on being the victor that night and getting ready for another title shot.”

With a former titleholder taking on an undefeated fighter, the winner of this fight only further solidifies his case for being the number one contender for Varner.

“This is definitely a well-deserved title match-up fight,” said the 31-year-old fighter. “We’ve both worked hard to get here and we’ll do our thing.”

“Razor” Rob McCullough has been through some tough times with the loss to Varner and the postponement of this last fight. He’s trying to take everything in stride and just work to get back to where he once was: the WEC lightweight championship. “I’ve just got to take it one fight at a time. I’ve been doing this a long time.”

He may be taking it one fight at a time, but that doesn’t mean he’s lost sight on a rematch with Jamie Varner. If he is successful in his fight with Cerrone, McCullough really wants to get another crack at Varner. “Oh man, do I? I can’t wait.”